Come and help us on the beautiful Hebridean Isle of Canna: house and garden/building work

United Kingdom

Favourited 487 times

Host rating
Feedback
20
Last activity
13/09/2019
Nº of Facebook friends
374
Reply rate
74.3 %
Average reply time:
within 7 days
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Availability

2019

Min stay requested: at least 2 weeks

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What's this?

Details

Description
We would welcome your skills and help with our house and garden.
Housework: cleaning and laundry in our house
Skills needed joinery and other building skills, chainsaw, fence building, gardening,
Gardening - maintaining our vegetable garden and to manage all the flowers and shrubs already growing there - the more skilled you are the better so I can leave you to get on with this.
General: building, general maintenance, grass cutting, painting

On Canna there is a population of around 24 people and my family are from this island.
The nearest point on the mainland is Mallaig where you get the ferry from and the nearest town is Fort William.
There is a small cafe/bar in the summer and a community shop and we have a great harbour with lots of visiting boats and yachts.
Canna is a great place for wildlife, birdwatching, fishing, kayaking and having a great time in the hebrides.
Type of help
Gardening
Building
General Maintenance
Other
Help in the house
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
This work also gives you the opportunity to spend some time on our lovely island of Canna and be part of the community here.

We are used to lots of visitors and we just want people to come, enjoy our island and have a very positive experience of being here.
Help
It would be great to welcome some volunteers to our island. I have several projects that I need help with.

A GARDEN: a flower and vegetable garden which we have started to recover and get working again.
Digging the garden beds, Pruning lots of bushes, Cutting grass ,General maintenance, Planting out and sowing seeds
We have a dog and a cat
Languages spoken
English
Accommodation
I have 2 small cabins next to my house - one for a bedroom and the other had a toilet, shower and a cooking/eating area.
We will supply all food and you will cook your own meals.
What else ...
The little island has lots of wildlife and has loads of archeology, culture and local heritage. Volunteers can also spend time fishing,kayaking or just walking and relaxing.
A little more information
- Internet access
- Limited internet access
- We have pets
- We are smokers
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
Hours expected
5 hours a day, 5 days a week - we can arrange days off to suit everyone/workload

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Feedback left by and about host (20)

08/10/2018

Left by Workawayer (Kinga) for host

Canna

My experience on Canna was extraordinary. The island is extremely amazing and although getting there was quite challenging for me, I would never change it for anything else.
Sometimes the work was quite hard, but nothing that a person couldn’t have handled. I usually worked in garden though which was such a pleasure! Accommodation had… read more

(Excellent )

26/09/2018

Left by Workawayer (Andy & Jan) for host

Me and Kristyna spent amazing two weeks with Isebail and are happy to describe a very positive experience we had.
The island is a real paradise and so are the people living there. After our time there we felt like a part of the community.

Yes, the work was quite hard some days but nothing we couldn’t handle (working with the spade, the sickle).… read more

(Excellent )

05/08/2018

Left by Workawayer (Svetlana) for host

I was thinking about whether to write a review or not, but finally decided to do so other Workawayers have the possibility to read the story from both perspectives and then make their decision. Yes, I have left this place after 3 days, although we had agreed 2 weeks. It is an absolutely stunning green island, but there a few things that need to be… read more mentioned.

If you are looking for a friendly and welcoming place where you as a person and your help with daily tasks is much appreciated, then better search for somewhere else. I arrived here on a weekend and was picked up by Isebail and instantly had to start work, without leaving my bags and rucksacks at home. She showed me home only after 3 hours of work on my arrival day. I did not feel welcome. Even though it was agreed for the food to be provided, Isebail did not do so, but asked me to sit down in her house instead and would then cook for me. As a grown-up woman I felt unconfortable in this situation as I like to take care of my own meals. I worked 5 hours that day and in the evening after 7pm she came to pick me up again, to show me more work that had to be done.

The house I would sleep in was messy, the bed undone and the walls covered with spiders and dead worms. I was not aware that Isebail would decide to come and sleep in the same room with me. That made me feel more uncomfortable. She also let me know, that she would be away for the following three days, means she will be leaving the island and was expecting me to take full responsibility for HER tourism business.

I was imagining something else when I heard about workaway. I believed it was a great platform to go and meet local people who are happy to meet you, too and glad to exchange languages and learn about different cultures. I am sure, this is Workaways intention. But some people are apparently not aware of that and use it to find cheap workers although they would desperately need additional employees rather than expect a Workawayer to work over 5 hours a day and not feel the need to be thankful.

For me, personally, it was a very important lesson I had to learn, and I am glad, that I have spent those 3 days there. It helped me to really recognise that I am not willing to let people treat me in a disrespectful way. My decision to leave earlier was absolutely right and I would do the same anytime again, if people were not nice towards me.

But in the end, we just did not share the same energy, so this is my very own and subjective experience and it might be completely different with someone else.

(Negative )

14/05/2018

Left by host for Workawayer (Svetlana)

After arranging on a Saturday and stay for up to 2 weeks, Lana decided after 1 day to leave on the Wed.
We agreed this and arranged the work to be done up to the Wednesday. I then received news that Lana would now leave on the Monday - creating a real problem for our business and customers. Lana did not communicate with me about this. She needs… read more

(Negative )

14/05/2018

Left by host for Workawayer (Dounia)

this workaway did not arrive as planned and she did not let us know that she was not coming!

(No show)

24/09/2017

Left by Workawayer (Montserrat ) for host

I spent the last two weeks of August in Canna and I have to say that it’s an unforgettable place. It’s a tiny Island with not much to do but staring at those landscapes it was enough for me. I wish I could have had the chance to spend more time with Isabeil but she went on Holiday my last week. However, I had enough time to discover that she is a… read more

(Excellent )

18/09/2017

Left by Workawayer (FEDERICA) for host

Great experience! The Scottish world of the Isle of Canna is warm and welcoming, the place stunning. I really enjoyed the time spent there working in the garden and in the campsite. Isebail and her family are wonderful, absolutely lovely! Always running around busy with sheep and cows, with long awsome walks among hills covered with purple heather… read more

(Excellent )

31/08/2017

Left by Workawayer (amelie) for host

Great experience! I improved my weeding and language skills a lot ;) Also everybody was so caring and I felt welcome from the first moment. Thank you!

(Excellent )

27/08/2017

Left by Workawayer (Peter) for host

Excellent stay, full of new experiences , ten days felt like five by the end, would definitely recommend to anyone who wants to escape all the noise.

(Excellent )

24/08/2017

Left by Workawayer (patrice) for host

I've pass three wonderful weeks in Canna island.I had a very warm welcome by Isebail and her family.The island is marvelous and all unhabitants friendly.The work wasn't very hard and i did it with a lot of pleasure.Ihope to come back one day and maybe the next year.One more time,thank you very much eIsebail for your welcome , your cooking and your… read more

(Excellent )

01/08/2017

Left by Workawayer (Jenny) for host

I spent two weeks of July on the beautiful island of Canna helping Isebail around the place. If you love nature, archaeology, birds or geology it has plenty for you, if not it's a stunning little island and on a sunny day you can see all the way to the Outer Hebrides! There are seals in the bay and you go to sleep to the sound of sheep and cows… read more

(Excellent )

25/05/2017

Left by Workawayer (Joris & Joris) for host

It was such a pleasure to meet Isebail and her family. They are "native" to the island, and can tell you everything about the surrounding area; one of their houses are even over 100 years old! I was able to come a bit last minute to help out with work in the garden.
Isebail has some great projects going on that myself and another wonderful… read more

(Excellent )

08/11/2016

Left by host for Workawayer (Anne)

Anne was great to have on the island and I really valued her independence and ability to turn her hand to different jobs - especially driving my old jeep! It was also great to have someone independent and reliable that enabled me to go away for my friend's 50th birthday knowing that guests would be looked after and jobs done.
Anne also… read more

(Excellent )

26/09/2016

Left by Workawayer (Anne) for host

For three weeks I stayed on the beautiful island of Canna. The island itself was wonderful. The work was fun and different each day. From cleaning the caravans and pods to building shelves, gardening and fixing up the phonebox. Isebail has a lot of fun tasks for you to do and you have a lot of freedom to do them as you like. She also trusted me a… read more

(Excellent )

05/09/2016

Left by host for Workawayer (Cara)

Thanks Cara for coming and helping out on Canna and fitting in with our busy routine! With Cara's help (she did most of the work!) we now have a very clean and freshly painted caravan to rent out to visitors. Plus lots of work done in the garden and polytunnel even when the weather was wet and it was great to get Cara's insights and expertise on… read more

(Excellent )

22/07/2016

Left by Workawayer (Cara) for host

A great way to experience one of the close knit communities of the small Scottish isles. Isebail is a wonderful host and an excellent cook. I helped with painting a caravan and some garden maintenance, in between dodging rain showers! A good place for someone willing to jump in and help without needing explicit instructions. I would happily return… read more

(Excellent )

02/09/2016

Left by Workawayer (Christiana) for host

Canna is an absolutely beautiful place and Isebail is a wonderful host, the two weeks I spent working here went by too fast! A fellow workawayer and I spent the days doing various jobs in the garden and campsite and caravans, learning new things everyday, and in the afternoons there was time to explore the island. Isebail was very thoughtful and… read more

(Excellent )

29/08/2016

Left by Workawayer (Debora) for host

My experience on Canna was out of the ordinary yet some parts of it were just perfectly domestic. Staying with Isebail was like staying with half of the population of Canna, seeing as there is a trusted open door policy being maintained. There’s hard workers there and it is easy to join in, hours fly by. I’ve enjoyed being useful in these… read more

(Excellent )

30/05/2016

Left by host for Workawayer (Sarah Kristin & Melina)

It was so lovely to have Sarah and Melina to stay and work with us on Canna. They really fitted in with my super busy house and island life. They had good skills and attitude to help-I was able to go and work on the farm and come back to see all the tasks that had been done - my garden is very tidy now! Sarah and Melina have a great attitude, hard… read more

(Excellent )

29/05/2016

Left by Workawayer (Sarah Kristin & Melina) for host

We had one of the most interesting experience on our trip here on Isle of Canna. Isebail was a lovely, fascinating and very busy women, who showed and told us a lot about the Island and the people who live there. We enjoyed her meals, storys and her enthusiasm that we had a great experience.
The work in the garden was a lot of fun (we felt… read more

(Excellent )

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